Thanksgiving veers toward a regular shopping day

Published: Saturday, November 24, 2012 at 12:30 a.m.

Last Modified: Friday, November 23, 2012 at 4:00 p.m.

Some of us were talking in the newsroom Friday morning about the number of stores that opened on Thanksgiving this year. Some greeted shoppers at 6 a.m. while others waited until the nighttime. In the past few years, the times stores open on Black Friday — the shopping day after Thanksgiving — have grown earlier and earlier and even into the holiday itself.

One year we were visiting my parents in Bryson City over Thanksgiving. My wife and dad awoke in the early morning hours the Friday after Thanksgiving to head out for a store about 35 minutes away. I don't recall the exact time they awoke, but I think it was early enough to reach stores that opened around 6 a.m. That time almost seems quaint now.

Thanksgiving means different things to different people. Family rises to the top of the list for many, and we gathered with about 45 members of my mother-in-law's family at a small church in South Carolina. She came from a family of 11 brothers and sisters, and I admire the fact so many of them and their children and grandchildren continue to gather each year.

Others focus on the food. Thanksgiving offers one of the few times that most people would say a bit of overeating can be justified. I've learned it's best to take small portions of several foods, including desserts, in an effort to sample items without stuffing myself. And it's not often one finds the opportunity to eat multiple desserts either.

Football comes into the equation for some folks. For years just two games were played on Thanksgiving, but now the tally has risen to three. I have fond memories of visiting my Dad's mother in west Tennessee during Thanksgiving when I was a child, and after the Thanksgiving lunch we spent the afternoon watching the games.

I do hope people found the time to truly reflect on their blessings during the holiday. Many of us have an overabundance of things for which to be thankful. This ranges from insignificant things (an iPhone, Cheerwine or shirt) to the more profound (a job, good health or a loving family). Our family spent probably 30 minutes taking turns sharing things for which we were thankful on the drive back from my mother-in-law's house Thursday, and I found this sharing a real blessing.

With the variety of emphases surrounding Thanksgiving, perhaps shopping is just as legitimate as the rest. Some people enjoy shopping (I'm not one of them) while others will go to great lengths in search of a bargain, some out of necessity. After the big meal, many people don't have concrete plans on Thanksgiving, so shopping provides a sense of entertainment or activity.

But it just seems somewhat inappropriate for stores to open their doors on Thanksgiving. That means some employees who would have been off now have to work. Some employees work in professions that require staffing on the holiday, such as emergency personnel, medical workers and even journalists. But retail stores and restaurants could remain closed.

For many years, Thanksgiving and Christmas served as the only holidays in which most businesses closed. Some drug stores even stay open on Christmas now. I worry that in the next few years we'll see Thanksgiving become just a normal shopping day.

An interesting discussion occurred on The Dispatch's Facebook page this week about this trend of stores opening on Thanksgiving. Sports writer Jason Queen lamented it; chief photographer Donnie Roberts pointed out if consumers didn't want it, stores wouldn't oblige them. Several readers weighed in with their perspective. So perhaps all of us should shoulder a bit of the blame for the business as usual attitude on the holiday.

Perhaps the nation can come to an understanding that it's OK to relax a couple of days a year on major holidays and delay the shopping to another time. I think most of us could wait until the day after Thanksgiving or even the following Saturday to begin our shopping. That would allow more time to reflect on our blessings, enjoy the company of family and slow down in this fast-paced world in which we live.

Chad Killebrew is executive editor of The Dispatch. He can be reached at 249-3981, ext. 215, or at chad.killebrew@the-dispatch.com.

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